Is West Really Best? Appalachian's Dining Hall Wars

Getting to the bottom of this riveting debate.

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For years, App State students have debated the superiority of the dining halls on the East and West campuses. East campus has a variety of options like Central, Cascades, and McAlister's. But for the purpose of this article, Central’s dining options will be the primary focus of the East side options, and Trivette will be referring to West campus dining.

None of Appalachian's dining hall options can truly compare to a nice, home-cooked meal, but the voices of Appalachian State have spoken to their preference of cuisine while eating on a meal plan.

The Halls

Hunter Midkiff

The first dining hall on Appalachian’s campus was Welborn Cafeteria and was constructed in 1925, but, just like today, students referred to it as Central. Over the years, Central underwent many different renovations and additions, but it was demolished and completely rebuilt in 2008 and 2009. Ultimately, Central was renamed Roess Dining Hall in 2014 after a member of the Board of Trustees and university benefactor, Alice G. Roess. Despite the name change, students still, to this day, call this dining hall Central.

Hunter Midkiff

In 1991, Trivette Dining Hall was built to accommodate the growing student population. Trivette was renovated in 2014 and now maintains a sleek, light atmosphere with an full view of the Duck Pond.

The Verdict

Hunter Midkiff

After creating a poll, interviewing fellow students, and consuming the food from each location, I have compiled a multitude of opinions, but there is no doubt that the vast majority of them all lean towards Central. I posted a poll to the Appalachian State University Class of 2020 Facebook page asking people to vote for their favorite: Central or Trivette. The response showed that 71 people prefer Central, and a whole five students voted for Trivette.

Hunter Midkiff

When I interviewed some of my peers, their responses fell in line with the Facebook poll’s feedback.

“Central is bigger and has a lot of options in comparison to Trivette. Plus, it’s right in the middle of campus and is convenient whether you’re in the library or Garwood or your dorm room-it’s always a five minute walk.” -Kalli Rose, Freshman

“Central is my preferred dining hall because there is higher quality of food than the rival dining hall, Trivette. Also, the workers are usually very friendly and helpful.” -John Caldwell, Freshman

“I like kale, so I decide on which dining hall I like the best based on if it is serving kale that day.” -Hailey Belk, Freshman

Hunter Midkiff

It is pretty clear that the majority of App State students would choose Central over Trivette on most days. Central’s fresh sushi, multitude of wraps, extensive salad bars, grill, and pasta find favor when compared to Trivette’s cafeteria-style meals, waffle irons, and Asian bar.

At the end of the day, I think it is safe to say that we would all prefer a home-cooked meal over dining hall food any day. But, while we’re forced to live in glorified prison cells and eat food produced in mass quantities for the first year or so of our college career, it seems the Central is the way to go.